50th Birthday Celebration, Party Ideas For Men & Women: How To Celebrate Your Golden Jubilee Birthday In Style

50th Birthday Celebration, Party Ideas For Men & Women: How To Celebrate Your Golden Jubilee Birthday In Style

We all love events and occasions right? Not just any type of occasion but the sort that is filled with fan fare and pageantry such as weddings house openings, book launch, naming ceremonies and of course, birthdays.

Birthdays are slowly turning into big events especially here in Nigeria. Some years back, it was seen as the reserve of the elite, for the social and political big wigs. Thankfully, all that has changed and everyone seems to have bought into the idea that birthdays are indeed a once in a year occurrence and ought to be celebrated with as much attention as deemed fit.

Planning for a child’s birthday is not very tasking. Why? Because you know the basics of what should be done. Depending on the child’s age, you already know cake, candies and sweets cannot be missing. Also , drinks and some cartoon character costumes should not be missing. Little cute decorations that are sure to delight the kids should be there as well.

This is how it is with planning a teenager’s and young adults’ party as well. Music, lots of food, drinks, drinks and of  course, cake. Now bring it up to an adult’s birthday, precisely an adult’s 50th birthday celebration then you will begin to understand that planning for such an event is not an easy task.

Chances are the person has probably had enough birthday celebrations to last them a life time so they are looking for something out of the ordinary, a bit unconventional and perhaps something that happened at the spur of the moment. Planning for such will be time consuming and brain tasking. This is not a child or a teenager or even a young adult who can be easily enticed by what they are seeing or by what is going on around them. This requires hard work, initiative and lots of creativity as well.

Beyond planning for the birthday party celebration, another issue with birthdays is the gift/present ideas. What to get for a 50 year old celebrant is not exactly an easy task. Imagine on your father’s/mother’s 50th birthday, and you are racking your brain as to what to get for them. This is not as easy as picking birthday presents for a child whom you can just get toys especially those of their favourite cartoon characters or some chocolate bars and some nice dresses and then watch  them glow with excitement or even a teenager whom you can just while on your feet decipher that they will definitely appreciate a head set, a smart phone, some jewelries, clothes and such likes will definitely make their day.

Now what do you want to get for your 50 year old father or mother? Most definitely not a phone (I mean, they are most likely the ones who got you the one you are using), not clothes and shoes as well, they probably have all of that. Most adults already seem to have it all so you must be very careful in tour choice of gift (s) for them so that at the end of the day, it does not end up in the heaps of rubbles like the other ones they probably got a couple of years back.

The good news is, we are here to help you plan for that 50 birthday celebration whether it is for that of a parent, relative, colleague or a client. All you need do is to study the celebrant. Get to know their temperaments as this will tell you the type of party they are most likely to enjoy and prefer.

Let us start with the birthday celebration proper before we talk about the gifts to get them. Before making that big day happen, there are some very essential items you need to check off your list to have a successful party. Let us take a look st some of the most essential:

Set A Budget

This is like the stepping stone to everything. Having a clear cut budget is going to generally set the pace for whatever birthday ideas you may have. It is the budget that tells you that the party cannot be a candle lit one at a cosy restaurant. It is also your budget that will tell you  otherwise. So keep in mind that this is the first parr in the planning process.

Know how much you are willing to spend or how much you have at hand so that you can be better prepared and know how to go about making  purchases. The truth is no matter how big your budget may look, if it is not properly managed, you will waste the entire money yet you will not see the result. The same goes for a budget that seems very little. By being thrifty and sticking to getting only the essentials, you will discover that you were able to get a lot done.

Bottom line: manage your budget well. Make very good plans and ensure that all the required are gotten. Only when you have forgotten all that you need can you then get some other additions to spice up the occasion. For instance you will surely need a DJ but guess what, you  do not necessarily need a VJ. This tells you that a DJ is definitely more important than the  latter and if after all tour plans you still have enough to spare for a VJ, by all means hire one.

Choose A Time

By time we also mean date. So just because your birthday is on the first of March does not mandate it must be celebrated on that very day. Also, there are some things that may stop you from having the  party on the same day as your birthday. Take for instance, your birthday fell on a Monday and you have a very tight working schedule, you may not be able to have that party on Monday (besides it is going to be boring on a Monday night). However, think of when it is now moved to Friday (TGIF!).                                         Now by that, you are already setting the pace for a very beautiful and relaxed party not where everyone is struggling to keep a sane mind to be able to prepare for work the next day. With this, even if you make it an all night event, everyone will most likely buy into that because they already know they can sleep all they want the next day which is a weekend.

Timing also allows you know how many guests to expect. So be sure to plan it properly so that as many guests as you invited turns up or at least, most of them. This way, you can fully maximize your plans properly.

Location Is Everything

Need we talk too much about this? Without location or venue, where will the party hold? This is also where your budget comes in because that is what will determine where the party will hold. Imagine having a budget of one hundred thousand naira (100,000), you will most likely not want a fancy restaurant or a boat cruise. But this does not mean that you cannot find somewhere nice even when your budget us not on the high side.

You can for instance decide to use the verandah of the house after it has been well decorated of course. This will save you the cost of renting a venue and the party will still be lit. The thing to be concerned about is to ensure that the venue is nice and comfortable with enough space as will accommodate the invited guests, equipment and everything else that will be needed.

Things to consider in choosing for a venue depends on the type of party being planned. If it is going to be an all night even, then you will most likely be considering venues in hotels,  clubs, lounges sit outs etc. However if on the other hand it is not an all night affair, then using the house or restaurant would not be such a bad idea.

Guest List

The guest list is very important in a birthday celebration because at the end of the day, all the preparations are actually for the guests (no celebrant wants to plan an event and then have no one attend it).

Ensure you have all the numbers of the people to whom invitation cards have been sent to so that you can remind them as often as you can. This way, they will not forget the date nor its importance. Another trick you should know is this: let us assume you have a five hundred (500) guest list that you are working with, do not ever make the mistake of sticking to just that figure. Always assume that there is a possibility that things can increase. You will not want a situation whereby after all of the preparations, you now run short of foods or drinks or you begins to mise so it can get to everyone. It is always better to have an excess than to have a deficit.

Cake, Cake, Cake

Ever been to a birthday party and there is no cake? Impossible! Right after the celebrant, the next thing that captivates your guests is your cake. Go for something simple yet attractive, with a play of colour. Usually, a butter iced cake is a darling any day anytime however, royal icing is equally beautiful and can go just as well for the occasion.

Be sure to get a very good caterer to take care of the cooking and cake (s) plus every other edible you have for your guests.  Birthday parties for a 50 year old all depends on the individual. While men will most likely not even want anything so flamboyant that will cause stress, women in the other hand can spend weeks and sometimes even months preparing for one.

50th Birthday Gift Ideas For Mom & Dad

When it comes to gift ideas for the celebration, this is something that should be done with caution. Gifts are very personal and sentimental and in a way, it is a reflection of what we feel the person needs or at least wants so when buying a gift especially for a 50 year old, do not go for the conventional gifts such as perfume, shirt, dresses, shoes etc. Go for something that will strike a chord such that the gift will remain with them for a very long time and when they see it, it reminds them of you.

Here are some 50th birthday gift(s) ideas for men and women and also for your father or mother:

50th Birthday Gift Ideas For Men

Men are usually after things that are convenient and lessens the work otherwise involved in performing any task. So for your father, depending on his preference and lifestyle, you can get him a customized cigarette case (that is if he smokes), a Mac book pro, a customized wristwatch, a good bottle of wine, shoes. Here is the trick, considering the age, you already know they have most of the conventional gifts people get for birthdays. How about taking your father/husband out on a trip for a week or two? Such trips are beautiful and takes him away from the stress of work and allows him to relax and rejuvenate.

50th Birthday Gift Ideas For Women

For women, there are a wide range of gifts to get for her to you know why? It is really simple, women are always girls regardless of how old they are (even at 50!) so chances are that she will still appreciate some of those things she liked growing up as a girl only this time, you have to step it up a bit and add some class and finesse to it.

Depending on the relationship, you can get her a good bottle of perfume (every woman loves to smell good and this gift will never go out of style) getting her a good piece of hair is another way to get her tripping. To add to this, a nice piece of accessory (watch, rings, bracelet etc) a nice dress, a visit to the spa for treatment, a weekend vacation, chocolates (you will be surprised how much she still loves it). The safe thing to do is to get something striking that will leave a mark in their 50 year-old mind(s).

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